Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks
United States · Americas
About
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are a World Heritage Site in the United States preserving eight monumental earthworks constructed by the Hopewell tradition. The sites consist of large geometric shapes covering several acres in area. Constructed between approximately 1 and 400 CE, the earthworks lie along tributaries of the Ohio River in the present-day state of Ohio. They depict the richness and depth of precontact culture, science, astronomy, and sacred monumental architecture. Many sites were plowed and reduced in size during almost 200 years of agricultural use.
In 2008, the Department of the Interior submitted Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as one of 14 sites on its tentative list from which the United States makes nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. UNESCO inscribed the earthworks as the United States' 25th and newest World Heritage Site on September 19, 2023. The complexes are owned and managed by the National Park Service and Ohio History Connection.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.